Five horsemen of the federal police have been sanctioned after they refused to dismount from their horses on the Belgian national holiday in 2014.
By refusing to dismount, they ignored a direct order, according to the Council of State, reports Het Nieuwsblad.
After the parade on 21 July 2014, the Belgian Royal Escort, a horse-mounted unit that accompanies the Belgian monarch on ceremonial occasions, had returned to the barracks in Etterbeek, where the commander gave the ceremonial order to dismount to about a hundred horsemen in the courtyard. Five horsemen ignored the order and rode on horseback to the stables.
When horsemen dismount from their horses after a long day, some horses cannot hold back, and start urinating uncontrollably. The riders would have to step through horse urine in their ceremonial attire as a result, and did not want to do that, reports Bruzz.
In 2015, they already received a sanction, but four of them took the case to the Council of State. However, the Council ruled that they were rightly sanctioned for disobeying an order.
In the meantime, the procedure has been adapted, as it was decided that horsemen can ride directly to the stables in November 2014.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
